I have decided to donate a portion of the prize money for the many who are facing starvation in various parts of the world; a portion of it for some of the leprosy programs in India; a portion of it to some existing institutions and programs working on peace; and finally, I would like to use a portion of it as seed money to eventually establish a Tibetan Foundation for Universal Responsibility.
This new foundation will implement projects according to Tibetan Buddhist principles to benefit people everywhere, focusing especially on assisting non-violent methods, on improving communication between religion and science, on securing human rights and democratic freedoms, and on conserving and restoring our precious Mother Earth.
I have deliberately added "Tibetan" to the foundation's name so that this will be one of the first truly Tibetan foundations established to act from the heart of the Tibetan people to do good and helpful things not only for their own country but for people throughout the world.
Old Tibet was a bit too isolated. The future Tibet will be active to help those in need throughout the world, especially using our expertise in psychological, spiritual, and philosophical matters. Of course, many individuals, foundations and governments are already working in these areas, and many more will surely do so as the planetary crisis becomes more obvious and intense. But I believe that our Tibetan combination of spirituality and practicality will make a special contribution, in however modest a way. Once this foundation begins to work we hope to be able to show what a free Tibet can give to the world when its time has come.
Oslo, Norway, December 10, 1989
